‘Tracer’ won’t tax viewers: director

Television director Lee Seung-young, who was behind popular crime thriller “Missing Noir M” (2015) and “Voice Season 2” (2018), said that his upcoming Wavve series “Tracer” is a family-oriented drama.

“Many viewers might consider the drama to be serious, because we will be talking about government officials working on taxes. But all characters have unique charms that will exceed the viewers’ expectations,“ Lee said during an online press conference Tuesday.

Despite the technical setting, Lee was confident that it would be easy to follow and understand the storyline.

“Tracer,” local OTT Wavve’s first original series this year, is an action drama about officials at the National Tax Service. The series is also scheduled to air on terrestrial broadcaster MBC.

When asked whether Lee felt under pressure while making the series, after the hit MBC drama “The Red Sleeve,” the director said he never compares his work with those of others’.

“Misery begins when a person starts to compare himself or herself with others. I tried not to think about the popularity of the previous work. But I hope the positive energy of ‘The Red Sleeve’ is passed on to our project,” Lee said.

“I am certain that ‘Tracer’ has its own power to attract viewers. We can entertain viewers as much as ‘The Red Sleeve’ did with our stories,” the director added.

Actor Im Si-wan was more than satisfied with the role of a tax bureau’s new team manager Hwang Dong-ju, whose actions speak louder than his words.

“I was an intern on tvN’s hit office drama ‘Incomplete Life,’ but eight years later, I have become a team manager. It did not feel bad to become a person giving orders from someone who always followed orders,” he said, jokingly.

To understand the lives of the officials in the National Tax Service, Im visited the organization to experience their routines and lifestyles.

“With the advice from former National Tax Service’s officials, I was able to learn a lot of specific phrases and expressions to help me understand my character Dong-ju,” the actor added.

Ko A-sung, 29, said that she was more attracted by the unique setting of the drama after visiting the National Tax Service.

“Though the people think of National Tax Service officials as strict and calm, I was surprised to know that the actual organization was rather free and lively. There were various types of people, including officials with stylish tattoos,” the actor said.

Ko said that her visit was important to construct her character as investigator Seo Hye-yeong and hoped the viewers feel the same charm of tax officials that she did.

The series is one of the most anticipated works by the fans, featuring a star-studded cast -- Im, Ko and veteran actor Son Hyun-ju, who rose to stardom with their own megahit drama series “Incomplete Life,” “Master of Study,” and “My Rosy Life,” respectively.

The 16-part series is scheduled to kick off Friday at 9:50 p.m. on MBC. “Tracer” will also be available on local streaming platform Wavve on Friday.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)